Wireless communication systems, such as cellular systems, use a large number of transmission sites (in the cellular system these are called base stations) to deliver (and receive) communications between the network and the wireless devices. Such systems are typically divided into cells with each cell formed around a base station. For diagnostic purposes coverage maps are generated to illustrate coverage areas. The coverage information, which is typically a measurement of signal strength or signal quality estimate, is displayed as a pattern of shaded colors (or shaded points) located on a map at the point where the measurement is taken. Over time, the series of shaded colors fills in to illustrate which areas are covered as well as the signal strength at particular locations.
Using such a technique, a network administrator can make determinations as to where additional coverage is required and can improve coverage in areas that have poor (or no) signal coverage. The existing techniques do not, however, allow network administrators to visualize which base stations are serving a particular device location. Thus, when a certain area shows an abundance of red circles (assuming red circles denote poor coverage) the assumption is that transmission from the base station that is designed to cover the “red” sector on the illustrated map must be improved. In fact, that might not be the case at all since the “red” sector might, in fact, be receiving its communications from a different base station.